pay for tune or buy hptuners?
09-10-2015, 05:15 PM
#1
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pay for tune or buy hptuners? Hey guys, Im finally just about finsihed with my car. Im almost ready to get it tuned. I did an m6 to a4 conversion, 4500 stall, 228r cam, headers etc. I know the basics of tuning, but have never tried using tuning software. My experience is limited to carbs and dizzys.
I know Im more than capable of learning to tune, but im concerned that It wont ever reach its full potential if i tune it myself. What is you guys experience? Do you regret buying HP tuners?
Im at the point of paying $500 to have it tuned by Ed Hutchins or pay $600 for HP Tuners and would also need a wideband.
I know Im more than capable of learning to tune, but im concerned that It wont ever reach its full potential if i tune it myself. What is you guys experience? Do you regret buying HP tuners?
Im at the point of paying $500 to have it tuned by Ed Hutchins or pay $600 for HP Tuners and would also need a wideband.
09-10-2015, 05:29 PM
#2
What I like about tuning is you can always tweak things. Maybe you could dl a tune close enough for your mods and tweak from there. On the other hand there is nothing like experience when it comes to tuning.
I'm thinking about buying HPT just to tune my trans. That way
I get what I want. Cool thing about HPT you can always turn around and sell for close to what you paid for it. Well worth its cost IMO.
I'm thinking about buying HPT just to tune my trans. That way
I get what I want. Cool thing about HPT you can always turn around and sell for close to what you paid for it. Well worth its cost IMO.
Last edited by RockinWs6; 09-10-2015 at 05:35 PM.
09-11-2015, 08:53 AM
#3
I live close to you and decided to go the route of buying my own copy of hptuners. I think its well worth it even of you do have to pay for a tune. I tweak mine all the time and use it at the track extensively. If you want help when you get it, I'm free most weekends.
09-11-2015, 06:52 PM
#6
get the pro it has a higher sampling rate as well as being able to put inputs into your data stream.
I bought 1 interface from zz performance and one from hpt direct , the zzp interface showed up in days hpt was weeks - buy it from someone who has it in stock and is in retail sales as their primary business , the price is fixed so generally no savings one place over the other but I have seen resellers offer "perks" with a purchase you will not see that with hpt.
I bought 1 interface from zz performance and one from hpt direct , the zzp interface showed up in days hpt was weeks - buy it from someone who has it in stock and is in retail sales as their primary business , the price is fixed so generally no savings one place over the other but I have seen resellers offer "perks" with a purchase you will not see that with hpt.
09-12-2015, 01:59 AM
#7
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09-12-2015, 08:33 AM
#10
Yes, worth the 150 IMO. With the standard you can log your wideband through egr, ac or another wire BUT 99% of the time I do a remote tune when someone is doing that they have issues. The setup is what takes so long and what gets people most of the time. Once its set up and configured right it works but with the pro you simplify the process and don't have to tap into your harness to make it log.
09-14-2015, 09:52 AM
#15
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I paid someone to tune the car my first go around....I'm currently working on redoing the tune now, plus I have 2 other cars so for me it was really worth it as there are no competent tuners in my area. So I figured I can learn. By the time I pay dyno time plus a tune and gas to get to a shop i could have bought the software a long time ago. Not to mention I paid 3 different people to tune the car and it wasnt right...
There is so much you can do once you understand the software, I got a chance to look at the tuning school documentation that is available as well. Personally that is worth the money if you want to do it right.
another advantage of the PRO that no one is mentioned is the black box logging feature. The ability to record a scan log without the laptop is an added bonus. The scan logs offer a very comprehensive look at what you car is doing with all the functionality of some of the higher end scanners on the market ant 1/4 of the price.....
If you are at all interested in learning to do it yourself its worth it honestly
There is so much you can do once you understand the software, I got a chance to look at the tuning school documentation that is available as well. Personally that is worth the money if you want to do it right.
another advantage of the PRO that no one is mentioned is the black box logging feature. The ability to record a scan log without the laptop is an added bonus. The scan logs offer a very comprehensive look at what you car is doing with all the functionality of some of the higher end scanners on the market ant 1/4 of the price.....
If you are at all interested in learning to do it yourself its worth it honestly
09-26-2015, 01:00 PM
#17
On The Tree
I paid someone to tune the car my first go around....I'm currently working on redoing the tune now, plus I have 2 other cars so for me it was really worth it as there are no competent tuners in my area. So I figured I can learn. By the time I pay dyno time plus a tune and gas to get to a shop i could have bought the software a long time ago. Not to mention I paid 3 different people to tune the car and it wasnt right...
There is so much you can do once you understand the software, I got a chance to look at the tuning school documentation that is available as well. Personally that is worth the money if you want to do it right.
another advantage of the PRO that no one is mentioned is the black box logging feature. The ability to record a scan log without the laptop is an added bonus. The scan logs offer a very comprehensive look at what you car is doing with all the functionality of some of the higher end scanners on the market ant 1/4 of the price.....
If you are at all interested in learning to do it yourself its worth it honestly
There is so much you can do once you understand the software, I got a chance to look at the tuning school documentation that is available as well. Personally that is worth the money if you want to do it right.
another advantage of the PRO that no one is mentioned is the black box logging feature. The ability to record a scan log without the laptop is an added bonus. The scan logs offer a very comprehensive look at what you car is doing with all the functionality of some of the higher end scanners on the market ant 1/4 of the price.....
If you are at all interested in learning to do it yourself its worth it honestly
I have the older HP tuner for my 98 Camaro...will the new and improved version of HP tuners record with out a lap top ? from what I understand you can real time tune with 98 pcm?.. plus just couldn't get it to recognize the wideband
10-02-2015, 09:49 PM
#18
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Lm1 or lc1 wideband? What are the easiest to tune with for hp tuners? Do you guys use 2? Sorry for the newb questions I am in the same boat with my swap. I have 2 Ls cars and a third if I swap my bel air so I am trying to get as much info as possible
Thanks
Thanks
10-03-2015, 11:09 AM
#19
I suppose it depends upon how picky you are on the cars post-tune behavior. If something isn't right then you need to keep going back and forth to the pro tuner. There are multiple ways to skin a cat, and different tuners can have slightly different methods to reach the same end goal. At some point the pro tuner may blame it on parts selection and/or false expectations from the owner, instead of the tune.
If you choose to buy any tuning solution and a wideband, then you have the capability to make the changes yourself but without training from others or going to classes it could still be frustrating knocking out the issues. Unfortunately some pros are not as forthcoming on how to work around certain symptoms (either because they don't want to admit they don't know or they don't want to lose business). I'm at the point where if a pro does it, it needs to be a combination of load-bearing tuning using the correct chassis weight (including driver) and street tuning. If you can leave the car with the pro tuner for a few days or a week that is helpful, but potentially more costly.
I happen to use HPT Pro with the original NGK AFX. No real time tuning with the 98's with HPT. The Pro unit can accept a log config, then you can log without the laptop. But you need to download the logs from the adapter to a computer with HPT Scanner to interpret them.
If you choose to buy any tuning solution and a wideband, then you have the capability to make the changes yourself but without training from others or going to classes it could still be frustrating knocking out the issues. Unfortunately some pros are not as forthcoming on how to work around certain symptoms (either because they don't want to admit they don't know or they don't want to lose business). I'm at the point where if a pro does it, it needs to be a combination of load-bearing tuning using the correct chassis weight (including driver) and street tuning. If you can leave the car with the pro tuner for a few days or a week that is helpful, but potentially more costly.
I happen to use HPT Pro with the original NGK AFX. No real time tuning with the 98's with HPT. The Pro unit can accept a log config, then you can log without the laptop. But you need to download the logs from the adapter to a computer with HPT Scanner to interpret them.
